Barry Pavel is senior vice president of the Atlantic Council, Arnold Kanter Chair, and director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, focusing on emerging global challenges, strategy, technologies, and key regional security issues. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, he was a career member of the Senior Executive Service in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for almost eighteen years. From October 2008 through July 2010, he served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy on the National Security Council staff, serving both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. In this capacity, Mr. Pavel led the development of five of the first eight Obama Administration Presidential Study Directives. He was the initiator and architect of the NSC's first-ever National Security Priorities Review and a key contributor to a broad range of defense strategy and planning initiatives for both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Mr. Pavel received a Presidential Rank Award in 2007 for his career accomplishments.